The huge majority of bicycles sold and available in the marketplace today are of the diamond frame type or derivatives that maintain a substantially upright riding position. Recumbent bicycles which place a rider in a supine orientation have been available for years but despite offering many advantages to diamond frame type bicycles (such as but not limited to more comfortable riding position, and lower wind resistance) have been unable to capture a substantial portion of the bicycle market.
Prior art recumbent bicycles have failed to make significant gains relative to traditional bicycles in part because the advantages they offer have been outweighed or over shadowed by the disadvantages of recumbent bicycles especially among serious enthusiast cyclists who are willing to spend the amount of money on a bicycle that is typically necessary to purchase a high end recumbent. First, recumbents typically have very long wheelbases that hinder handling and the ability to maneuver through obstacles in a manner that would be easy for an upright-style racing bicycle. Second, recumbents do not traditionally climb, accelerate or sprint very well as it is difficult to make adequate use of a rider's upper body and arm muscles. Third, recumbents tend to utilize specialized components that are not readily available or are not easily upgraded. Furthermore, many style conscience riders are hesitant to ride recumbents because of their wholly non-traditional look.
Several improved recumbent designs have been proposed that mitigate if not eliminate some of the real and perceived disadvantages listed above. One particularly notable example is a recumbent that is fashioned from a bicycle frame of a traditional mountain bicycle by using a suitable conversion kit. The conversion kit is described in U.S Pat. No. 7,416,203 entitled Assembly for Converting Standard Bicycle into a Recumbent and A Bicycle Incorporating the Assembly filed on Mar. 31, 2006 and having the same inventor as the present application. One of the biggest issues with this solution is that it does not have the aesthetic look that many cyclists desire. Furthermore, there is greater difficulty obtaining an ideal configuration for a particular rider as the frame is not designed with a recumbent conversion in mind. Another important limitation of many prior art recumbent bicycles is that the circuitous path of the structure connecting handlebar to bottom bracket has many components, each adding opportunities for flex and associated losses of efficiency in the transfer of power applied by a rider via his upper body through the handlebars. Finally, the traditional mountain bicycle frame is not engineered for the different loads associated with a recumbent bicycle and as such may not in some circumstances have the desired longevity when used as a recumbent or, as is more likely the case, the frame will be much heavier than is necessary for recumbent usage.